


The Universe Is Infinite

by Lucie_LightwoodBane



Category: Hatchetfield Universe - Team StarKid, Nightmare Time - Team StarKid
Genre: Author Is Sleep Deprived, Emma really loves Paul, F/M, Heavy Angst, Hurt No Comfort, I'm Bad At Tagging, Nightmare Time Spoilers, Sad Ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-08
Updated: 2020-12-08
Packaged: 2021-03-10 04:01:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 831
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27964238
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lucie_LightwoodBane/pseuds/Lucie_LightwoodBane
Summary: MAJOR SPOILERS FOR NIGHTMARE TIME EPISODE 2Summary is in the notes because I'm terrified of ruining it for people.Title is from Take Me Back from Black Friday
Relationships: Paul Matthews/Emma Perkins
Comments: 6
Kudos: 18





	The Universe Is Infinite

**Author's Note:**

> All she wants before she dies is an answer.  
> The knife comes down.  
> And Emma sees. 
> 
> Or: Emma sees flashes of alternate realities while Paul 23 is killing her and finally finds out if she'd have chosen him

Emma Perkins stares at the man who is about to kill her. She sees the knife heading towards her chest, clutched tightly in his shaking hands. She sees the impostor behind him, a cruel smile lighting up the brown and blue eyes. And she can’t help but wonder why. Why is he doing this? Why does the fake Emma love him? Why the fuck did she come back to Hatchetfield? All she wants before she dies is an answer.

The knife comes down.

And Emma sees.

She’s behind the counter in Beanies working. It’s not her memory, but somehow she knows it isn’t the fake Emma’s either. The bell rings as Paul enters and she wipes her hands on her apron. She doesn’t know him yet, but he’s kinda cute and a damn good tipper, so she talks to him as she makes his coffee. He grins at her as she leaves and for whatever reason it makes her day.

He stabs her again.

The world has just ended and all she can think of is Paul. She barely knew the guy, but her heart is aching, like something fundamental is missing from her. Then he’s back with eyes that are just a shade too blue and he’s singing and Emma’s heart is breaking because she knows Paul would rather be dead than this. He pulls her close to his chest and she wants so badly to hate him, but it _knows_ and it knows she could never hate him. There are blue tears in his eyes as he kills her.

And again.

They’re running towards the mall, hand in hand, and she can feel Paul’s heart racing in time with hers. She knows how scared he is, but he insists on coming with her anyway, locking the car so Tim is safe from whatever’s going on in there. They find Tom, but it’s too late to do anything, the bomb is falling and Paul is shaking as they hold each other. She suddenly regrets not calling him her boyfriend this morning. She tells him she loves him and the last thing she feels before they die is Paul kissing her.

And again.

They’re sitting side by side on the couch, talking about how Paul’s friend is going to Watcher World this weekend. He’s excitedly talking about all the different coasters, telling some random story she’s not really listening to, and it strikes Emma how adorable he is when he’s genuinely excited over something. She makes a note to buy tickets for his birthday. It’ll be a couple months’ worth of tips, sure, but it’s worth it to see Paul Matthews smiling.

Again.

Her white sundress is ruined as she stands opposite Paul in his good suit in the pouring rain. She’s starting to wonder if a beach wedding in February was a good idea. Hatchetfield has one beach and its tiny, but it doesn’t really matter. Tom got ordained online and their only other guests are Tim, Bill and Alice. They spend their honeymoon with colds and Paul’s parents are livid but it really doesn’t matter. They’re married.

Again.

Emma has everything. The baby girl with the wispy brown curls and bright blue eyes squirms in her arms and she wants to cry. Paul leans in from the chair beside the hospital bed and stares in awe. Neither of them had planned for it, and it took a good deal of talking for them both to agree to it, and right now all she can think of is how glad she is they did. Jane Matthews looks up at her parents and reaches up towards them until her tiny fingers curl around one of Paul’s. Emma leans against him and the three of them fall asleep that way. It’s perfect.

Paul readies the knife.

Emma is lying on the floor of the hotel, bleeding out. She rolls her head back to look at Paul and realises she’s in love with him. She’s always in love with him. And Paul is always in love with her. So this can’t be Paul, looking down at her with cold eyes that have little more emotion in them than the robot behind him. She notices the brand of the number 23 on his wrist and takes it as proof. It breaks her heart a little to realise she never got to meet Paul this time. Maybe she’ll meet him once not-Paul finishes her off. She thinks she’d like that.

Again.

In Nightmare Time there are two trees that were planted not long ago. They’re completely interwoven with each other, their branches tangled in the closest thing to an embrace such creatures can have. Even their roots grow together, joining them together at the foundations. Unlike the others, they very rarely wail or call out warnings to passers-by. Instead, the Paul and Emma that never got to love each other whisper about the ones who did, and all the lives they wanted with each other.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading to the end of this pile of angst. It's been almost two months and I'm still not over Forever and Always, especially not this scene. This is super similar to my last Hatchetfield story but I love the idea of characters seeing their alternate selves. I've had the idea of Paul and Emma being planted in Nightmare Time for a while now so I figured I'd throw that in there too.  
> Thank you again for reading and I really hope you enjoyed it!


End file.
